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MartinHarper
11th-July-2005, 01:25 AM
IMO there are too many weekenders already...

I thought this was interesting. Are there too many weekenders? What are the downsides to having an excess? Or should we have more?

under par
11th-July-2005, 01:43 AM
I thought this was interesting. Are there too many weekenders? What are the downsides to having an excess? Or should we have more?

Ah!! but they are only at the WEEKEND!

You still have the other 5 days of the week if you don't like them too much. :flower:

There can only be 52 of them can't there???? :confused: (per year)

Lucy Locket
11th-July-2005, 08:40 AM
You don't have to go to every one, just pick your faves :cheers:

David Bailey
11th-July-2005, 09:37 AM
I thought this was interesting. Are there too many weekenders? What are the downsides to having an excess? Or should we have more?
There certainly seem to be more weekenders than a few years ago. You might think this could draw people away from going to standard Friday / Saturday night events. :eek:

However, there seem to be also many more standard Friday / Saturday night events, certainly in my area, so that theory doesn't seem to hold up. :confused:

I'm not the biggest fan of weekenders, I think they're a bit over-hyped. But from the evidence, they do seem to promote dancing in general, as well as "dancing-at-weekenders", so I don't think they damage the non-weekender events, quite the opposite in fact. So that's good :grin:

There's another issue though, about the whole "pressure to go" which FirstMove alluded to in another thread (http://www.cerocscotland.com/forum/showthread.php?p=132985#post132985) - the whole weekender-hyping thing certain people indulge in can raise expectations.

Not everyone has The Time Of Their Lives at weekenders - some people love it, some dislike it, some are bored, some quite like it but can live without it, and so on.

As for "how many is too many", I imagine it's the same as any "market saturation" situation. But I also imagine that, as these are very much deman-driven, there'll be a correction in the long term, so it's not a big deal.

Andy McGregor
11th-July-2005, 10:26 AM
There certainly seem to be more weekenders than a few years ago. You might think this could draw people away from going to standard Friday / Saturday night events. :eek:

-snip-

As for "how many is too many", I imagine it's the same as any "market saturation" situation. But I also imagine that, as these are very much deman-driven, there'll be a correction in the long term, so it's not a big deal. :yeah:

Also, I think that there is some diversification in the product that organisers offer. Rockbottoms offer a very different format to JiveTime. I think that the fact that Rockbottoms events get booked up months in advance is an indication that there is room for more weekenders of their format.

Lynn
11th-July-2005, 10:26 AM
Weekenders are a big plus for folk like me who don't have any regular night, or even people who don't have that many big freestyles within handy travelling distance. If you have to travel to dance, an event with several evenings dancing plus accomodation is great. And the more weekenders there are, the more choice there is for dancers, the more competition between events so the higher standards to make their event the best.

There seem to be enough dancers to go round to fill weekenders and regular freestyle nights, if all the complaints about overcrowding are anything to go by.

Lory
11th-July-2005, 11:12 AM
The only real downside i can think of, is the 'watering down' effect. I don't think anyone could possibly go to ALL of them, so we just hope and pray that the one 'we' choose will be the one that attracts the people we like to spend time and dance with. ;)

David James, spoke of the hype and eluded this to be a 'bad thing.' :confused: I'd disagree, for me, that's part of what adds to the excitement... :clap: everyone planing to meet up, discussing what they'll be wearing, organising BBQ's etc I love the build up and anticipation.. :clap:

On a really personal note, I would be attracted to a smaller more specialised weekender as well, should one arise. I could definitely live with 'just' the blues room... No classes but instead, spend the day, socialising and experimenting with both 'dance' and 'music'.. in a non formatted Jam :cheers:

I'd love to have time to swap music idea's ....an iPod session? :waycool:

Also contrary to what David said, and agreeing with Underpar, I love dancing till dawn, I can't explain it and unless you've experienced the 'high' you won't understand but it's definitely like a drug! But I need to lay in, so, lets start the day at lunchtime! :D

Maybe just Friday night to Sunday Tea time?

Surely I can't be alone here? :confused:

Going back to the downside question, by having so many weekenders, it must inevitably reach a saturation point, which could (but not for the organisers) have a welcomed 'up side' less crowding for one and a continued improvement of quality! :)

I do appreciate that weekenders aren't for everyone. :sad: If your not a fan of roughing it a little and you can't possibly live without your little home comforts or without sleep, for that matter and if you find crowds and big rooms intimidating, then weekenders just aren't for you! :flower:

Also, I agree, it IS nice to be part of a crowd but what could be better than being part of the forumite crowd? :yeah: :cheers:

Lynn
11th-July-2005, 11:21 AM
I do appreciate that weekenders aren't for everyone. :sad: If your not a fan of roughing it a little and you can't possibly live without your little home comforts or without sleep, for that matter and if you find crowds and big rooms intimidating, then weekenders just aren't for you! :flower: And there are 'smaller' weekenders too if you want a bit more comfort - I was at the Jive Addiction Scarborough one last year, and there was a lot less people (maybe 300?) which gave more space to dance, smaller classes and nice comfy hotel accomodation. And isn't Rock Bottoms more that style? (Haven't been - yet!)

And I agree about the dancing til dawn thing - I couldn't do it too often, but I love it when I do.

(And btw DJ re salsa - I heard of some NI folk over in England for a salsa weekender - and the dancing finished about 5 or 5:30am - lightweights!)

Andy McGregor
11th-July-2005, 11:22 AM
Also, I agree, it IS nice to be part of a crowd but what could be better than being part of the forumite crowd? :yeah: :cheers: :yeah:

Lounge Lizard
11th-July-2005, 11:44 AM
ok there has been an increase in weekenders, but the increase in dancers is proportional, so I do not see any problem
I worked at twelve different weekenders in 2004, all were a success
Camber & Southport sold out this year
Party Weekender is almost sold out for november (I understand)
Rock Bottoms sells out

Dance weekenders are not a private club, they are for the benefit of the dancers (and organisers) if the increase in events means it is not possible to go to them all, no probs

Yes there will become a saturation point, this happens with competing local venues, but that is the dance business.

We all (I hope) want to expand MJ and get more dancers involved etc. the weekenders give the oppertunity for organisers, Teachers, DJ's, dancers to exchange ideas discover new moves or music.
They help the dance direction - Southprt Latin room will encourage others to play more Latin music - Blues & swing music in MJ evolved from Beach Boogie & Camber swing rooms.

How many people have been to a weekender and been dissapointed because the event was affected by the increasing number of simmilar events taking place? I have not come across this.

Peter

David Bailey
11th-July-2005, 12:16 PM
David James, spoke of the hype and eluded this to be a 'bad thing.' :confused: I'd disagree, for me, that's part of what adds to the excitement... :clap: everyone planing to meet up, discussing what they'll be wearing, organising BBQ's etc I love the build up and anticipation.. :clap:

Except for people reading this who may have their expectations raised, then cruelly dashed. Bit like meeting me really :whistle:

Seriously, I much prefer the (copyright ZW I believe) "high points / low points" approach, I think it's more balanced...


I love dancing till dawn, I can't explain it and unless you've experienced the 'high' you won't understand
Well, I have danced till dawn, and I've danced till 11pm. The amount of time dancing is nothing compared to the quality of the dancing, to me.

But people get different things out of these. And there seems to be a bit of one-upmanship by some people in the "I can dance longer than you" stakes, which I'll politely bow out of and say "OK". Again, I have no interest in how much dancing I do, only that it's good quality.


Maybe just Friday night to Sunday Tea time?

Surely I can't be alone here? :confused:
If you are, that kind of puts paid to any socialising... :)

Lory
11th-July-2005, 12:58 PM
Except for people reading this who may have their expectations raised, then cruelly dashed.
I'm a firm believer that you only get out of things, what you put into it! ;) Sadly no ones notices the people standing on the sidelines or watching from afar! :(


But people get different things out of these. And there seems to be a bit of one-upmanship by some people in the "I can dance longer than you" stakes, which I'll politely bow out of and say "OK". Again, I have no interest in how much dancing I do, only that it's good quality.
Maybe that's true to some extent but not in my case. :innocent:

We all have off nights, when we feel our dancing is just, well, not happening and maybe I just take longer than most to reach my peak :really: but that's what I love, when I've reached it, I can then maintain it for hours! :wink: :whistle:

Surely I can't be alone here? :confused:

If you are, that kind of puts paid to any socialising... :)
:yeah: Maybe I am? :sick: :tears: :tears: :tears:

jivecat
11th-July-2005, 01:22 PM
David James, spoke of the hype and eluded this to be a 'bad thing.' :confused: I'd disagree, for me, that's part of what adds to the excitement... :clap: everyone planing to meet up, discussing what they'll be wearing, organising BBQ's etc I love the build up and anticipation.. :clap:


I quite like a sense of anticipation but I don't like building up a huge expectation because this is almost bound to be disappointed. For that reason, I enjoy Fri nights and Sun nights at weekenders more, because they're low-key, with less pressure to fuss about clothes etc or stay up late. Though I often do anyway.

Enjoyment at weekenders is what you make it, as several people have said. It's a combination of personal attitude, fitness, luck in getting good dances at the right time, company, people you meet, even the weather. These factors are all variable and not always under my control, so I try to approach each weekender philosophically, thinking "I'll probably enjoy it, but what the hell, it's not the end of the world if I don't."



On a really personal note, I would be attracted to a smaller more specialised weekender as well, should one arise. I could definitely live with 'just' the blues room... No classes but instead, spend the day, socialising and experimenting with both 'dance' and 'music'.. in a non formatted Jam :cheers:



I agree. I don't get much out of the classes and can't dance all day and half the night as well, so something has to give. Rather than pay for the classes I'd like a free afternoon to go off and do a little light tourism/shopping. The lunchtime freestyle sessions are often excellent (shame about Camber's in May) and one definite plus point of the Southport blues room is that it's open, and uncrowded, all afternoon. Having never actually made it to the bitter end at a weekender, I wouldn't mind if the nights ended at a fixed time, say 3ish, as I find that I stay up for the sake of it, and because I'm afraid I might miss something, when I'd really be better off getting some sleep.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I can't remember a class described specifically as "musicality" being offered at any of the weekenders I've been to. Some classes include elements of musicality, but isn't it time this was offered in it's own right, maybe in conjunction with listening to new music, like Lory describes above, but as a class/session open to everyone?

Zebra Woman
11th-July-2005, 01:23 PM
I'm a firm believer that you only get out of things, what you put into it! ;) Sadly no ones notices the people standing on the sidelines or watching from afar! :(


We all have off nights, when we feel our dancing is just, well, not happening and maybe I just take longer than most to reach my peak :really: but that's what I love, when I've reached it, I can then maintain it for hours! :wink: :whistle:



You are not alone, I'm right with you Lory. :whistle: :devil:

I agree. On a weekender somehow the first 4hrs is an amazing warm up for the dancing that goes on into the dawn. Those are the kind of dances that seem impossible to replicate on a normal freestyle night. The flow of music is the key IMO, and the obsessive dancers who refuse to go to bed. :D




On a really personal note, I would be attracted to a smaller more specialised weekender as well, should one arise. I could definitely live with 'just' the blues room... No classes but instead, spend the day, socialising and experimenting with both 'dance' and 'music'.. in a non formatted Jam

I'd love to have time to swap music idea's ....an iPod session?


:yeah: I would love a weekend of Blues and Latin and anything slow to medium. :drool: ...and just one fast track - 'Swing City'! :devil:

:rofl:

Andy McGregor
11th-July-2005, 01:31 PM
You are not alone, I'm right with you Lory. :whistle: :devil:

I agree. On a weekender somehow the first 4hrs is an amazing warm up for the dancing that goes on into the dawn. Those are the kind of dances that seem impossible to replicate on a normal freestyle night. The flow of music is the key IMO, and the obsessive dancers who refuse to go to bed. :D




:yeah: I would love a weekend of Blues and Latin and anything slow to medium. :drool: ...and just one fast track - 'Swing City'! :devil:

:rofl:
Can we also have "Whatever Lola wants" by Gotan Project.

David Bailey
11th-July-2005, 02:25 PM
...and just one fast track - 'Swing City'! :devil:
You're heading the right way for a span- err, negative repping - young lady :devil:

Zebra Woman
11th-July-2005, 02:30 PM
You're heading the right way for a span- err, negative repping - young lady :devil:

Really?

Have I mentioned how much I like Swing City? :innocent:

Damn, you're not coming to Ashtons on Friday. I could have requested it and had it dedicated to you David. Next time eh?

:devil:

David Bailey
11th-July-2005, 02:39 PM
Damn, you're not coming to Ashtons on Friday. I could have requested it and had it dedicated to you David. Next time eh?
Watch it, you, or I'm withdrawing hair-pulling privileges.... :mad:

MartinHarper
11th-July-2005, 03:03 PM
I can't remember a class described specifically as "musicality" being offered at any of the weekenders I've been to.

One of the Rock Bottoms weekenders I've been to had a musicality class, so they do exist.

stewart38
11th-July-2005, 03:19 PM
[QUOTE=DavidJames]


I'm not the biggest fan of weekenders, I think they're a bit over-hyped. But from the evidence, they do seem to promote dancing in general, as well as "dancing-at-weekenders", so I don't think they damage the non-weekender events, quite the opposite in fact. So that's good :grin:

There's another issue though, about the whole "pressure to go" which FirstMove alluded to in another thread (http://www.cerocscotland.com/forum/showthread.php?p=132985#post132985) - the whole weekender-hyping thing certain people indulge in can raise expectations.

Not everyone has The Time Of Their Lives at weekenders - some people love it, some dislike it, some are bored, some quite like it but can live without it, and so on.

[QUOTE]

I read this and thought no wrong

Then read it again and felt he has a point

I love weekenders, more dancing better standard etc etc

But some people I know went once and wouldnt go again

'whats the fun of walking around 30 extra in a class' Camber girl I know said and wont go again

Not sure if it takes a certain mentaility to go. If you a wall flower probably not going to enjoy boy or girl or a beginner

SilverFox
11th-July-2005, 03:36 PM
Watch it, you, or I'm withdrawing hair-pulling privileges.... :mad:You haven't got any hair! :confused: :wink:

Dance Demon
11th-July-2005, 05:04 PM
Well, I have danced till dawn, and I've danced till 11pm. The amount of time dancing is nothing compared to the quality of the dancing, to me.

But people get different things out of these. And there seems to be a bit of one-upmanship by some people in the "I can dance longer than you" stakes, which I'll politely bow out of and say "OK". Again, I have no interest in how much dancing I do, only that it's good quality.



Well...I Djd the early morning sets at Southport, and I must say that the quality of the dancing was outstanding. My set on the Friday night started at 3am, and went on 'till around 6.30am........the Saturday night set was from 4am and finished at 7am.......( dawn was around 4.15am).......It was a joy to sit behind the decks and watch the dancing. I'm sure the people who were there would have danced on, not because they were trying to outdo each other, but because they were enjoying themselves, and enjoying the kind of music they rarely hear at a normal MJ night. The nice thing is that it's there for those who want it.....

Minnie M
11th-July-2005, 05:12 PM
...... because they were enjoying themselves, and enjoying the kind of music they rarely hear at a normal MJ night. The nice thing is that it's there for those who want it.....
:clap: :cheers: :yeah: :worthy: :kiss: :hug: :clap:
and have to drive for 6 hours to get there - but worth every mile :worthy:

Zebra Woman
11th-July-2005, 05:14 PM
Well...I Djd the early morning sets at Southport, and I must say that the quality of the dancing was outstanding. My set on the Friday night started at 3am, and went on 'till around 6.30am........the Saturday night set was from 4am and finished at 7am.......( dawn was around 4.15am).......It was a joy to sit behind the decks and watch the dancing. I'm sure the people who were there would have danced on, not because they were trying to outdo each other, but because they were enjoying themselves, and enjoying the kind of music they rarely hear at a normal MJ night. The nice thing is that it's there for those who want it.....

Yeah I really appreciate the rarely played music. Thank you :hug:

The blues room mood for me is a very delicate state, it only takes one track I don't like to burst that bubble. (Although I understand we're all different etc. etc.)

I remember once, 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' was played at 6AM on a weekender. :eek: Suddenly I felt exhausted and boy did my feet hurt :tears: Everything hurt! By the end of the song all of the endorphins had worn off. :tears:

I think that was the DJ's intention :devil:

Luckily (like Lory) I had peaked earlier :wink:

azande
11th-July-2005, 05:56 PM
Well...I Djd the early morning sets at Southport, and I must say that the quality of the dancing was outstanding. My set on the Friday night started at 3am, and went on 'till around 6.30am........the Saturday night set was from 4am and finished at 7am.......( dawn was around 4.15am).......It was a joy to sit behind the decks and watch the dancing. I'm sure the people who were there would have danced on, not because they were trying to outdo each other, but because they were enjoying themselves, and enjoying the kind of music they rarely hear at a normal MJ night. The nice thing is that it's there for those who want it.....

:yeah: :yeah:

:worthy: :worthy:

Andy McGregor
11th-July-2005, 06:45 PM
Correct me if I'm wrong but I can't remember a class described specifically as "musicality" being offered at any of the weekenders I've been to. Some classes include elements of musicality, but isn't it time this was offered in it's own right, maybe in conjunction with listening to new music, like Lory describes above, but as a class/session open to everyone?I think Nigel and Nina have done musicality sessions at RockBottoms weekenders. But they don't get the thousands of Camber or Soutport.

Lynn
11th-July-2005, 07:08 PM
Well...I Djd the early morning sets at Southport, and I must say that the quality of the dancing was outstanding. My set on the Friday night started at 3am, and went on 'till around 6.30am........the Saturday night set was from 4am and finished at 7am.......( dawn was around 4.15am).......It was a joy to sit behind the decks and watch the dancing. I'm sure the people who were there would have danced on, not because they were trying to outdo each other, but because they were enjoying themselves, and enjoying the kind of music they rarely hear at a normal MJ night. The nice thing is that it's there for those who want it..... The quality of the music was great too! Thanks DD :hug:

I find that sometimes, a bit like Jivecat said, I stay up because I don't want to miss anything. A large part of it is the music, even if I feel too tired to dance I can stay and listen the music. But I love the fact that I can spend several hours in the Latin room, and also several hours in the blues room, all in one evening. And pop into the main room every so often to dance with different people.

Re workshops - I don't come to big weekenders to go to many classes, its all about the variety of freestyle music and lovely dances for me. But I did a lot more classes at Scarborough, maybe because they were smaller (and there was a great line up of teachers too). So for me, big weekenders for long nights of freestyle, smaller weekenders for classes. I learn both ways.

And I think if there were too many weekenders then they wouldn't be getting enough people to make them all viable, and the opposite seems to be the case. I think its pretty simple really - there are more weekenders because there is more demand, because there are more dancers.

David Bailey
11th-July-2005, 07:16 PM
You haven't got any hair! :confused: :wink:
Ahem... :whistle:

Jon Brett
17th-July-2005, 01:48 AM
'whats the fun of walking around 30 extra in a class' Camber girl I know said and wont go again

Not sure if it takes a certain mentaility to go. If you a wall flower probably not going to enjoy boy or girl or a beginner

would this happen if the organisers made sure there was even boy/girl numbers at a weekend event that was not huge in numbers & attracted a very sociable crowd?

Lounge Lizard
17th-July-2005, 07:17 AM
would this happen if the organisers made sure there was even boy/girl numbers at a weekend event that was not huge in numbers & attracted a very sociable crowd?
But where would you find this on a weekender :wink:

stewart38
17th-July-2005, 11:15 AM
would this happen if the organisers made sure there was even boy/girl numbers at a weekend event that was not huge in numbers & attracted a very sociable crowd?

If its totally even you probably get some disappointed girls who cant go and men looking for dances after 1am (women tend to leave earlier) .

Minnie M
17th-July-2005, 11:23 AM
We all know that the dancing circuit has a larger number of women than men so unless you monitor the numbers which must be almost impossible with numbers over 1,000 this is bound to happen

However, what is wrong with you boys :devil: you know that ALL big weekenders have a large surplus of women doesn't that make you want to come to them even more :whistle:

AND there are a lot of 'lightweight' female dancers - so us sturdy 'wots sleep' girlies don't have problem dancing with all you wonderful leads after 3am :clap: :cheers: :hug: :kiss: :yeah: :flower:

Jon Brett
17th-July-2005, 11:57 AM
But where would you find this on a weekender :wink:


Hmmmm... I wonder :D

animaltalk
17th-July-2005, 12:57 PM
I thought this was interesting. Are there too many weekenders? What are the downsides to having an excess? Or should we have more?

I think this was where I was going with my advanced jive weekenders discussion.

My conclusions - IMHO
1) Once I am in the zone I can dance for hours - please don't stop me
2) Musciality/jam sessions/smaller classes - exactly what I want
3) People go to bed = FAB = More space on dance floor
4) There are enough weekends (52) - Please don't compete
5) Need weekenders - will travel
6) Blues room - Fantastic- will def travel
7) Latin room - Ditto
8) Too many weekenders in one corner of England -> dilution of dancers
9) Southport ladies and music, blues room - post 3am - Fabulous

Question: Does one get "dance goggles," similar to beer goggles after 3am :wink:


Finally - RBs - fantastic - friendly, right size, crazy, fab tunes. good ratio

stewart38
17th-July-2005, 10:12 PM
We all know that the dancing circuit has a larger number of women than men so unless you monitor the numbers which must be almost impossible with numbers over 1,000 this is bound to happen

However, what is wrong with you boys :devil: you know that ALL big weekenders have a large surplus of women doesn't that make you want to come to them even more :whistle:

AND there are a lot of 'lightweight' female dancers - so us sturdy 'wots sleep' girlies don't have problem dancing with all you wonderful leads after 3am :clap: :cheers: :hug: :kiss: :yeah: :flower:

But should you stop women going who know there are going to be more women just because men wont go or book so much later ?

Jon Brett
18th-July-2005, 03:20 PM
But should you stop women going who know there are going to be more women just because men wont go or book so much later ?

one word: yes

Minnie M
18th-July-2005, 04:17 PM
one word: yes
I'm included to agree with JB here - but it should be down to the organiser if they know there is a very large imbalance.

It does spoil the evening when there are too many women, the guys can't dance with who they WANT to dance with and the regular ladies have to fight over eager beginners pushing their way throught to grab the guys - that is if they can bother fighting :what:

animaltalk
18th-July-2005, 07:36 PM
one word: yes

here here

Minnie M
18th-July-2005, 07:38 PM
I'm included to agree ........
I really must read my posts before submitting them :rofl: bit like a Jeremy Beadle accident .... I meant to say inclined :blush:

NaturalMystic
18th-July-2005, 11:30 PM
Ah!! but they are only at the WEEKEND!

You still have the other 5 days of the week if you don't like them too much. :flower:

There can only be 52 of them can't there???? :confused: (per year)

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS - I do agree Under Par!! :wink:

Jon Brett
19th-July-2005, 02:07 AM
it should be down to the organiser if they know there is a very large imbalance

Indeed. It's in the organiser's interest, surely, to do their best to make sure no-one has any complaints about their events. And a common complaint about some weekenders is "too many women over" - especially noticeable when it comes to the classes.

Some weekenders do make sure the balance is right though :wink:

stewart38
20th-July-2005, 01:14 PM
I'm included to agree with JB here - but it should be down to the organiser if they know there is a very large imbalance.

It does spoil the evening when there are too many women, the guys can't dance with who they WANT to dance with and the regular ladies have to fight over eager beginners pushing their way throught to grab the guys - that is if they can bother fighting :what:


Ok question to the ladies

If someone said to you there are likely to be a 12.46% surplus of women at camber would you still like the chance to go ? and what is a large imbalance ?

Dont get me wrong i think its good re trying to 'balance numbers ' but should women be excluded. I had a great problem getting a women into a recent weekender !

Cruella
20th-July-2005, 04:45 PM
Ok question to the ladies

If someone said to you there are likely to be a 12.46% surplus of women at camber would you still like the chance to go ? and what is a large imbalance ?

Dont get me wrong i think its good re trying to 'balance numbers ' but should women be excluded. I had a great problem getting a women into a recent weekender !
If i had a choice between a weekender such as Southport where the numbers are even, and another event where there was a surplus of women, then absolutely Southport would win. I'm afraid i disagree that there are more hardy male dancers than women. The sexes were pretty equal at 6am at southport in my eyes. Please put me right if you disagree.

Minnie M
20th-July-2005, 05:14 PM
If i had a choice between a weekender such as Southport where the numbers are even, and another event where there was a surplus of women, then absolutely Southport would win. I'm afraid i disagree that there are more hardy male dancers than women. The sexes were pretty equal at 6am at southport in my eyes. Please put me right if you disagree.
Equal numbers at Southport :confused: yes they definitely were after 3am and/or in the blues/swing room :clap: but I didn't think that reflected the daytime numbers :whistle: or before about 2am - I noticed that the main ballroom had a significant number of women waiting for dances around the edges of the dance floor

Have to say it had no bearing on my personal enjoyment of the weekend - mind you the DD's music was worth coming to Southport for, even though you had to wait till after 3am for it - so all those lighweight ladies missed out :wink:

Jon Brett
21st-July-2005, 01:19 AM
Ok question to the ladies

If someone said to you there are likely to be a 12.46% surplus of women at camber would you still like the chance to go ? and what is a large imbalance ?

Dont get me wrong i think its good re trying to 'balance numbers ' but should women be excluded. I had a great problem getting a women into a recent weekender !

OK, I'm not a woman, but I'll reply anyway. Women book earlier than men to our weekenders. Don't know why, but it's true. That's why we stop them booking nearer the time to give the men a chance to catch up. More girls might want to go, but we can't risk ruining the weekend for everybody (including the extra girls that want to go). If we let all the women book the places up early, we could sell out our weekends earlier, but we want everyone who goes to enjoy themselves (and that includes us).

clear as mud no doubt, but I think you get what I mean.

Lynn
21st-July-2005, 09:51 AM
Equal numbers at Southport :confused: yes they definitely were after 3am and/or in the blues/swing room :clap: but I didn't think that reflected the daytime numbers :whistle: or before about 2am - I noticed that the main ballroom had a significant number of women waiting for dances around the edges of the dance floor Not sure if it was exactly equal but it was aiming for that. In some workshops in June there were extra men - men would probably be more interested in learning moves so if numbers were exactly equal then I think this would occur more often. Of course no matter what way you plan it, the chances of a perfectly equal number wanting to do each workshop is unlikely in classes of that size and a certain amount of extra is OK.

Sheepman
22nd-July-2005, 08:47 AM
I'm afraid i disagree that there are more hardy male dancers than women. The sexes were pretty equal at 6am at southport in my eyes. Please put me right if you disagree.
Here's a different slant on this perhaps?
At Camber last November, I was in the blues room at 5 in the morning, where there were 5 men left, and 3 women. (Luckily I had a woman, and I wasn't going to let go of her for the next hour of bluesing! :blush: ) This is an event where there were a lot of extra ladies.
At Southport the numbers remained pretty even throughout the night, (and much busier at the end) but we started off with more even numbers.

My theory is that where there are a lot of extra women, they are going to get bored with the amount they are sitting out, so they head off to bed earlier. Maybe the theory doesn't hold up for when the numbers start evening out, but perhaps by that time, the usual "die hards" have already had enough?

There again, at Rock Bottoms, and Beach Boogie, where the balance is also controlled, I've often had the problem of "running out of women" after 4 in the morning :really: So maybe fatigue is a factor, or is it just the case that more unstoppable women (the Scots :whistle: ) go to Southport?

It feels very odd when a great track strikes up, and I think "must dance to this!" only to look around and find there are no women available, :tears: this has happened to me at all these events, and I suppose it is fair enough to remind us guys how lucky we are that there are usually extra ladies.

Greg

Cruella
22nd-July-2005, 08:57 AM
It feels very odd when a great track strikes up, and I think "must dance to this!" only to look around and find there are no women available, :tears: this has happened to me at all these events, and I suppose it is fair enough to remind us guys how lucky we are that there are usually extra ladies.

Greg
:yeah: You guys should realise how fortunate you are, this happens to us ladies 90% of the time. :tears:

Zebra Woman
22nd-July-2005, 10:10 AM
:yeah: You guys should realise how fortunate you are, this happens to us ladies 90% of the time. :tears:
:yeah: :yeah: :yeah:

Camber this May was a prime example of too many women. :tears:

I tried so hard to exist in the blues room but there were just not enough men to go around. I lost count of the number of times I climbed up those bl$$dy stairs to get some exercise in the Main Jive Room (which was also packed full with spare women).

I can dance all night if I keep going but after a 20 minute break my legs seize up and the balls of my feet sting too :tears: . I am happy to ask and try to avoid long breaks so I am usually dancing more than the average woman. But I can see why some of them just give up and go to bed.

I for one would like to see the numbers controlled at Camber.

One lovely Rock Bottoms night Miss Conduct and I had an absolute pile of men at our disposal and we were almost too tired to dance with them all. One of them even coated himself in chocolate in order to try to win favour with us. :devil:

Yeah I like it like that . :drool:

Minnie M
22nd-July-2005, 05:59 PM
One of them even coated himself in chocolate in order to try to win flavour with us. :devil:
:yum: